A New Era- Part One
by Saint
Summary: Professor Charles Xavier has died and Scott has taken over leadship of the X-men. Now he must face a new threat, without his great mentor at his side.


  
Alrighty, this is an X-men story placed shortly after the death of Charles Xavier. I'm an old school fan of the X-men so look for Cyclops, Jean, Storm, Rogue, Wolvie, and the rest of the crew.   
  
Hey guys, I'm new at writing in the first person so let me know what you think!  
  
  
(Scott)  
  
I don't ever think I have felt so alone. Never ever since the death of my parents had I felt so lost, confused, and broken inside. It was like someone gave Logan my brain on a platter and let him have at it. Nothing functions. I couldn't even know if it was all real. It just wasn't making any sense. It still had not sunk in that today is the Professor's funeral.   
  
"Huh, he told me a million times to call him Charles, but I could never do it."  
  
I stood there in the middle of a huge crowd of mutants, all of whom owed very much, at least indirectly, to the Professor. Logan, emotionless, stood there and grieved in his own way. The Professor had brought him back from the brink of insanity more than once. Ororo would probably still be sitting somewhere in the deserts of Africa. I would probably have killed myself. Having to hold my eyes shut the rest of my life would have been too much. He was such a man.   
  
"I don't want to have to get up and speak," I gently told Jean mentally. She and I stay connected whenever we are close to each other.   
  
"I'm here with you, in my seat here and in your mind, Love," came a beautifully reassuring voice in my head. She always knew how to calm me. I guess being telepathic helps but being my wife does too. She is wonderful.  
  
So I stood before my colleagues, new and old, and shared my heart. I began, "The Professor was like a Father to me in more ways than one..."  
  
  
(Jean)   
  
Scott was doing wonderfully up there in front of everybody. I know him better than anyone, well, now that the Professor is gone, but he surprised even me with his ability to speak and not cry. He was so strong. Difficult to imagine that his mentor had just died if all you could do was look at him. I could hear his thoughts though, except...   
  
"He's hiding something," I thought to myself. "He doesn't want to know something about the Professor."  
  
I decided not to probe. I trust Scott more than any other person alive. I'll let him speak. He was the right choice to deliver the eulogy. He didn't just know the Professor's mind on things. He wasn't just his team leader; he was like his son. He knew the Professors heart.   
  
"Things are still going well. I'll remember to ask him about it later."  
  
  
(Scott)  
  
It was the day after the funeral and I was flying over Alaska. I had to get away. People meant well but I was tired of hearing "I'm sorry." I needed to spend some time alone and think. So I took the Blackbird and headed for the mountains of Alaska.   
  
"Nowhere in the world can I be alone like I can here," I thought, knowing that I needed to think over some things without Jean being around to listen to every thought. She knew I was hiding something. It was understood between us that I was going away to think about what I didn't want to share with her. She understood. That's why we work so well together, and of course, it helps that she's telepathic, and my wife.  
  
After I had the Blackbird set me down and return home on autopilot I let myself begin to think. What the Professor said before he died... what he meant by it... it was just all so wrong.  
  
It was only four days ago. Sitting deep within the Mansion in our underground medical facilities with the Professor was strange. I never had to be strong before when we talked. I just always shared how I felt, even though he already knew, and gleaned from his wisdom. This time, I was trying to smile, to make him feel comfortable but I knew there was nothing I could do. We had done everything we could. His body was just degenerating. It was his time. So I just sat there in the med-room among all the machines helping to keep him alive and hoped upon hope that it was all a dream.  
  
"It isn't a dream Scott," he said gently, as if not to break my already fragile heart. "I am going to die soon. It's the way of things."  
  
I didn't know what to say. He knew my thoughts and just kept smiling as they came to the surface. It hurt him to the very core to use the energy he did to keep smiling and talking but he seemed like he needed to say some things before he went. So I sat there, all night. At some point I fell asleep.  
  
"Scott! Scott!" Came a familiar voice. It was the Professor. I looked up at him and I almost hit the floor with surprise. He looked about twenty years younger and he was standing in front of me with a smile on his face.   
  
"But how...what?" was all I could manage to say.   
  
The Professor's smile softened a little. "It's a dream Scott. You're asleep. I, however, am very much awake. This is the best way for me to keep communicating with you. I'm getting weak."  
  
"Professor," I said, "how am I going to make it here without you? How can I run the school? How can..." I trailed off again. I felt like he was asking me to be silent and listen, even though he hadn't spoken.   
  
"Scott, I don't have much time. I am confident in you. I always have been. You are the finest man that I know." I didn't know if I could take all that but he continued. "Listen to me Scott, you have to be the leader now. You have to be the defender of the children. There is something coming that I cannot stop. It is bigger than me; it is bigger than you. It is bigger than all other mutants that have even been born."  
  
Things suddenly started to get fuzzy. It was like I was waking up but not really. I was somewhere in between sleep and awake and something, I knew, was wrong. "Professor? Charles?"  
  
He smiled again. "I've been trying to get you to call me that for some ten years now son."   
  
Again, things fuzzed. I cried out to the Professor again.   
  
"I am fading away Scott. Listen! He is coming that can change it all. He will be our end or our salvation or nothing at all. You must find him! You must make it right! The world will change. You will change. It's changing now..."  
  
He wasn't making any sense to me. "Professor! Professor! You're fading!" I screamed with all my dreaming mind could muster.   
  
"Now is my time Scott. I love you. You are my son and my successor. Take care of the children."  
  
Suddenly a pain ripped through my head and everything turned black for an instant. I screamed as I woke and I realized that bells and alarms were going off all around me. The machines were going nuts. Charles lay lifeless on the table. Moira ran in and stopped as soon as she saw the read outs on the machine.   
  
"I'm sorry Scott," she said with tears in her eyes. "He's gone."  
  
I sat next to that table for the next, I'm actually not sure how long it was actually. It was some hours though. All I could do was sit there and look at the empty table. They had moved his body with me sitting there. They turned off most of the lights and removed most of the machines and I sat there alone. It was just me, the table, and my dream. My mentor, my best friend had died. All I had was this dream.   
  
"I love you too Charles..."  



End file.
